


Birthdays Have Cake and Silly Songs

by Beethovensbitxh



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV 2020)
Genre: Also got some background Boggie babey, And busted this out while I was on the plane ride home, Bobby-Centric 5+1, and I picked up my Google docs, and my brain did an upsetty, because I’m incapable of writing anything else, so I did my duty as a fic writer, this came from someone saying “Bobby deserves birthday cake”
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-02
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-15 01:29:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29800887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beethovensbitxh/pseuds/Beethovensbitxh
Summary: Most birthdays have cakes and balloons and confetti, but Bobby Wilson had his friends. Emphasis on the had.Or5 times Bobby had an amazing birthday with his friends, and 1 where he was alone
Relationships: Bobby | Trevor Wilson/Reggie Peters
Comments: 11
Kudos: 49





	Birthdays Have Cake and Silly Songs

**Author's Note:**

> Someone in my GC said “Bobby deserves cake” and my brain immediately said “you have to write angst now” because I’ve been up for 24 hours straight and crammed 3 days worth of mental breakdowns into 3 hours so this is the brainchild of THAT

Birthdays mean balloons and rubbing them on your head to make your hair stand up on end. 

Birthdays mean singing fun songs and collapsing into a fit of giggles with your friends. 

Birthdays mean blowing the candles out and occasionally throwing cake in someone’s face, and then threatening to lick the icing off their face.

Bobby Wilson had all those. For a long time he got the cake and the balloons and the friends that make stupid jokes during the happy birthday song. 

Sunset Curve met long before they were actually Sunset Curve. When Bobby moved from Pasadena to LA, with a fringey bowl cut and sneakers that were always a little too big for him. One day, he’d look back and thank those sneakers though, because 12-year-olds have horrible coordination and can barely stay still for longer than 3 minutes.

“Watch out!” He’d yelled, but not in time for the short brunette boy that sat in the back of the class, doodling something in his notebook that always made the teacher mad, to move out of the way. That’s how he met Luke, by accidentally hitting him with his book bag after he’d tripped over his laces. 

Turns out, his doodles were song lyrics, albeit, not great ones. He’d gone on about how he was learning to play guitar, and how he’d learned a whole new song in just 3 days. 

That’s when he met Alex and Reggie, both just a little taller than Luke. 

Alex always tucked the golden cross around his neck into his shirt, and when it came out he’d take it off and stuff it in the side pocket of his backpack, but always made sure to put it back on before the school day ended. Bobby never questioned it, but started to remind him if he forgot. 

Reggie had braces and floppy hair like Bobby’s, but he always pushed it out of his face like it annoyed him. He kept his house key in the front pocket of his leather jacket, and more than once had ripped it on the sharp tips. Bobby liked spending time with Reggie, especially when it miraculously rained and they could run around the beach, soaked by the perspiration. 

———

His first birthday with the boys, he’d handed them all handmade invitations, decorated with stickers and foam letters that spelled out “Bobby Wilson’s 13th Birthday Party”. He’d never seen them beam so brightly upon reading it. 

That was the birthday Bobby got his first guitar, with a black streak down the side of it and barely tuned strings. He and the boys slapped stickers on the back and Luke taught him some beginning chords. 

His parents split up 4 months later. 

Bobby could almost taste the bitterness on the end of each “I love you” in the morning as dad left for work, and he could feel the animosity in the air by the time his dad moved out. He didn’t know what  _ animosity _ meant, so to him it was just a change in the atmosphere.

“It’ll be okay” Alex hung his arm around Bobby as they sat on the top of the playground, watching Luke and Reggie hang upside down from the monkey bars. “How do you know?” He’d muttered, and pushed himself into Alex’s side. 

Alex just looked down at his chest, where the cross would’ve been, and sighed. “I just… I do.” 

Bobby rarely went over to the boys houses, his was bigger, quieter, homely. 

The first time he went to Alex’s house, he’d noticed the crosses on the wall, and the hall of photos from his and his sisters baptisms and first communions, and how Alex slunk past them to his room. He barely looked up at them, so neither did Bobby. 

Alex was still pretty new to the drumming thing, and he barely knew how to keep in time, but he was trying. Learning. That’s what Alex was best at.

———

Bobby’s 14th birthday party was a lot quieter than his 13th. His parents barely spoke to each other, and he’d only invited his boys. But they still sang goofy songs and drank so much punch Reggie got a stomach ache. 

But he was a teenager, and he had to be  _ mature _ . That’s what he’d always heard from the older kids. 18 seemed so far away, yet so close. 

Reggie had picked up bass that year after hearing that “every band needs a great bass player”. He didn’t care about the “nobody loves the bassist” trope. He just wanted to join his friends. 

Except that trope wasn’t exactly true. Because Bobby felt this weird ping in his stomach whenever they played together, and he wanted to be so close to Reggie that he could count his freckles like stars.

It was weird. He didn’t feel that way about any of his other boys, but he didn’t want to weird Reggie out. So he just never said anything.

“Hey Reg!” Luke called out as they sat in the garage that night. “Truth or dare.” A grin spread across Luke’s face, and Alex rolled his eyes. 

Reggie had never been one to back down from a dare, which was exactly what he picked. “I dare you to kiss Bobby… on the lips!” He added at the last second, and Bobby felt his face flush.

Reggies face was warm against the cold November air, and Bobby wanted it to last forever. But it didn’t. It was irrational to want it to.

But the boys never spoke of it again, and continued with their truths and their dares well into the night, drinking hot chocolate in Bobby’s garage. 

“We should start a band...” Reggie had tiredly said exactly 12 minutes before midnight, snuggling into the couch, letting his hand drape over Bobby’s lap.

“That sounds like fun.” Alex mumbled in response. 

All 4 boys fell asleep on top of each other that night, filled with leftover cake and chocolate.

———

Turning 15 came with a lot of responsibilities. His mom had a baby girl, making Bobby a big brother. Her little cheeks were chubby, and the tuft of hair on her head was like a newborn staple. 

The newly formed Sunset Curve wasnt all too good, but they made a nice amount of pocket change playing covers onSanta Monica Pierr. They’d spend it and get ice cream (and a gelato or shaved ice for the lactose intolerant Alex).

That’s where he spent his 14th, drinking root beer floats with his boys before heading back to his house to spend the rest of the day with his dad.

“Hey Bobber, remember how you said not to get you a birthday present this year?” Alex had asked as they sat across from each other in the booth. Luke was flicking straw wrappers at Reggie and pretending not to know what Reggie was talking about.

“Yeahhhhh” Bobby raised an eyebrow. He didn’t need a stupid toy or a trinket to be happy. He had the band. 

“Well…” Reggie grinned, opening his jacket just enough to pull out a thin package wrapped in brown paper. “You didn’t have to-“

“No no, Bobs. You’re gonna wanna open it.” Luke flashed a toothy smile and propped his head up with his elbow. 

Inside was a card, sloppily signed by all three boys, and four tickets to Nirvana's next concert.

Bobby would look back on it as one of the best concerts he’d ever been to.

———

Alex came out three days before Bobby’s 16th birthday. It was a sudden “I like boys!” that echoed through the garage halfway through band practice, bringing In Your Starlight to an abrupt halt.

“Cool. Me too.” Bobby acknowledged, looking back to his guitar. No one said anything, and Alex silently smiled to thank him. It was a known fact now. No reason to hide it. They hung up a small rainbow poster beside the drums the next day.

Bobby spent his 16th stuck in LA’s famous traffic, on the way to a gig across the city. There was no cake or balloons, but Luke had insisted on singing happy birthday at the top of their lungs. 

No cake also meant no candles, but Alex’s dad kept a lighter in the glovebox and they’d forced him to blow it out.

“Happy birthday Robby” Reggie whispered as Luke and Alex argued in the front over how the hell they were gonna get to their gig in time. 

“You know I hate Robby-“ Bobby chuckled and turned, just in time to catch a would be cheek kiss with his lips. Bobby remembered that first kiss on his 14th birthday, all of them in the garage and buzzed off sweets.

Reggie pulled away, leaving Bobby stunned and disappointed. Maybe Reggie hadn’t actually liked him like Bobby had thought.

Instead, Reggie just whispered “Was that not okay?” All Bobby could do was slide his hand back behind Reggies head, pulling him back into another kiss. 

Kissing Reggie was like breathing fresh air. He couldn’t stop taking it all in, holding his breath for another taste of him. Perfectly molded to fit each other.

Neither Luke or Alex acknowledged it, but they didn’t seem surprised when band practices got closer afterwards.

———

His 17th was less exciting than the others. None of the boys were very festive, and he didn’t blame them. 

Luke was still reeling from his fights with Emily, and Alex rarely went home during the day. The only one ready to celebrate was Reggie, who flinched at every loud noise. 

Sunset Curve was tired of all the fighting.

Still, birthdays aren’t complete without the cake and the silly songs. Reggie bought a crapily frosted red velvet cake with rainbow sprinkles slapped on top and stuck 1 and a 7 candles in it. 

They gathered around each other in the garage, Alex holding on to Bobby’s shoulder and Reggie gripping his hand and Luke rubbing his knee. 

They sang Happy Birthday, albeit not their best version of it, and were happy together. 

“Happy birthday Boberto” Luke strummed out the tune on his guitar, and everyone else shoved spoonfuls of cake into their mouths. 

“Of all the nicknames I’ve been given, that’s the best you could do?” Bobby chuckled over a bite, almost dropping it with the heaving of his laughs. 

It may not have been the happiest, or the most birthday-ish, but like all the other years. He had his boys.

He’d always have his boys.

———

18 was always a milestone. He always thought they’d make it to 18. 

Like every year before he’d expected a cake, no matter how shitty it was, and a stupid song. One where Alex would sing in that stupid vibrato, and Luke would have his stupid guitar, and Reggie would give him a stupid kiss on the cheek and whisper “happy birthday babe” in his ear. 

But he wasn’t getting any of that for his 18th.

None of them were getting any of that. Alex was the first, Bobby was supposed to be the last to turn 18. Being the youngest friend sucked, especially when you’re also the last friend.

“Happy birthday Bobby…” he whispered to himself, letting the 1 in the 18 candles melt until the wind blew the flame out. 

He didn’t really care if he was eating candle wax, apparently you could eat anything and not know what would happen to you. 

Luke and Reggie didn’t even live to see their 18th birthdays. 

Alex didn’t live to be an adult and escape the controlling grasp of his parents. 

Bobby lived to see 18, but he didn’t have the three people he thought he’d have for the rest of them. 

And he could’ve sworn he heard a faint hum of “happy birthday to you” swallow the street up as he cried, letting the tears fall into his melting cake. 


End file.
